Spiritually Speaking
By James Washington Jr., Co-Publisher, Dallas Weekly News
With everything going on in our world today, my question to you is how does one put on the full armor of God in the midst of pandemic, the continuation of overt racism, state sanctioned discrimination and even murder? The bible says, “Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Ephesians 6:11. This passage may not tell you how to put on the armor, but it certainly lets you know why you need it. That’s kind of why I pose the question.
I wish I could say most of this is original but it’s not. I’m paraphrasing most of it, but I think it’s important to understand when people talk about warfare, Satan’s power in the physical world or, just plain battling against sin, this is what they’re talking about.
Spiritual warfare, as my bible says (for believers), is fought in the mind, in the emotions and in the will.
It is in these areas that we do battle and most times we think we’re struggling with ourselves, our own weaknesses of flesh and blood, and discipline and integrity, pride, and envy. When in actuality, we’re really struggling against “the devil’s schemes.” Let’s not overlook or be complacent about where a lot of this is coming from.
At these rather intense times, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that Satan and his forces have already been defeated and to a large extent disarmed. We give him power when we forget this simple little fact. Our emotions take over and, in a state of complete exasperation, judgement gets clouded and actions happen in the spur of a moment.
I’ve said on many occasions that the fight is fixed in our favor but we do have to go through the mental reality of this in order maintain control and think ourselves into the solutions we so desperately need to navigate what some believers term a temporary existence called ‘life.’
Here is something that sums it up pretty well straight out of my bible: How do we put on spiritual armor?
We do so by daily absorbing scripture as truth, living in obedience to God, sharing the gospel and trusting Christ. That’s how to put armor on, study the Word, live according to biblical principles, and believe that we live in a place infused with Jesus’ protection. That knowledge will protect us as we come under spiritual attack. It doesn’t protect us from spiritual attack. But it does it makes us less vulnerable, less susceptible to the ‘devil’s schemes’ i.e. better able to handle what comes at us.
You see, in this world Satan is free to tempt, deceive and entice, but he has no authority over you. My bible says when we overcome temptation in the spiritual sense; we play out the victory in the physical world.
We win emotionally. We win physically. Pure and simple we win. The point here is you’ve got to recognize that a lot of what you’re going through is the direct result of coming under attack and not because of some great flaw within you. Success or better yet victory, necessitates controlling the mind game.
When you put on the armor of which I speak you know this. It’s like knowing that it’s going to rain and taking an umbrella. But you have to pay attention to the signs of bad weather in order to be prepared. You can’t be prepared for the devil properly unless you know Jesus Christ personally. He is your and my umbrella so to speak. And please don’t take my word for it. Just read the bible. The streets are dangerous. Please be safe and aware of who you are and who’s coming at you. Protect yourself.
May God bless and keep you always.
